Gratitude: Stories of the Heart: Artist Spotlight: Neil Denny

" A Pit to Hiss From."

It’s an expression that has stayed with Neil Denny for years, one passed down from his dear Aunt Tissie, who used it to describe a place of comfort, contentment, and gratitude.

It’s a curious phrase, really. A rattlesnake’s den doesn’t sound like the sort of place most people would choose as a symbol of refuge. But for Neil, it captures something deeply true: the feeling of finding a place where you can settle in, make a life, and feel at peace.

For Neil, that place is Lummi Island.

Neil moved to the island nine years ago after retiring from a teaching career in Alaska.

Since then, he has embraced the rhythms of island life and the simple, satisfying pleasure of making things by hand. A natural creative, driftwood sculptor, sea glass collector, who has a lifelong love of fixing, tinkering, and repurposing, Neil sees possibility everywhere.

“I have always enjoyed fixing things,” he says, “and moving to Lummi Island has certainly given me the opportunity to indulge my passion.”

That instinct to create from what’s already at hand runs deep. One of the lasting lessons Neil carries from his grandmother is to never throw anything away, a philosophy that has shaped not only his art, but also the life he has built.

His home reflects that legacy: a space filled with gifts from friends, local art, treasured tools passed down through four generations, and the kind of objects that hold both history and purpose. It is a home assembled with care, memory, and creativity, a living expression of gratitude made tangible.

“If gratitude can be a tangible thing,” Neil says, “this is it for me.”

That same sensibility comes through in his driftwood sculpture, where found objects become something entirely new. The island itself is part of this creative process, offering materials and inspiration in equal measure, and you may run into him on Church Beach as he collects sea glass and small driftwood pieces with "creature potential".

“The island provides so much,” he says. “Driftwood that can become a face, sea glass of infinite colors and shapes. Cigar boxes become ukuleles… endless possibilities!”

His art is shaped by patience, humor, memory, and the quiet pleasure of making something with his own hands. For Neil, gratitude is closely tied to this season of life, growing older in a place that continues to inspire him, challenge him, and offer small daily gifts.

“How fortunate,” he reflects, “as I settle into being old, to have discovered a place to enjoy it.”

That may be one of the most moving parts of Neil’s story: the sense that gratitude doesn’t have to be grand or complicated. Sometimes it looks like a well-loved tool, a driftwood sculpture taking shape on the workbench, a home full of meaningful objects, or the discovery that contentment can be found in a place you never expected.

A pit to hiss from, a refuge, and a life made from what is at hand, and made beautiful by the act of paying attention.

See for yourself Neil Denny’s driftwood sculptures as part of Gratitude: Stories of the Heart, on display tthis summer at the LIH&W Resource Center. The exhibition is open Monday–Thursday, 9:00 AM–Noon. Stop by to enjoy Neil’s creativity, and the many heartfelt stories shared by local artists in this special community exhibition.